According to the Department of Health of Ho Chi Minh City, although the sub-variant XBB.1.5 has not been reported in Vietnam yet, the risk is high as cross-border exchanges will increase during the upcoming holidays. 

The department said that the best solution is to be ready for the worst case, when the new sub-variant appears and spreads quickly and cause serious illness.

Therefore, all hospitals in the city must actively prepare human resources, drugs and medical equipment for all situations.

The local health sector is ready to arrange 10,000 beds, including 1,000 resuscitation beds for Covid-19 patients. In addition, hospitals are urgently preparing rehearsals to reactivate the field hospital No. 13 when the epidemic situation worsens.

The 13th field hospital for Covid-19 treatment will be put into operation within 24 hours in the event of negative developments.

At the same time, disease control activities at border gates and seaports are still maintained. The municipal Department of Health has set up 45 Covid-19 vaccination site which will open during the Lunar New Year.

People have also been urged to comply with Covid-19 preventive regulations, such as wearing face masks and washing hands with sanitiser or soap after returning home.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the XBB sub-variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has spread to more than 70 countries. Recently, the XBB.1.5 subvariant caused a new outbreak in the US, with the infection rate increased from 4% to 41%. In Vietnam, the XBB variant has been reported in Tay Ninh province and HCM City.

XBB and its sub-variants have now been reported in more than 10 countries throughout the region, including Vietnam, and are likely to continue to spread further. The World Health Organisation has said that XBB and its sub-variants were more transmissible compared to other sub-variants. 

According to the Ministry of Health, the appearance of the XBB sub-variant along with the opening of some countries in the region will lead to the risk of increasing Covid-19 cases in the near future.

Linh Giao